This brief tutorial shows the
primary stages of industrial battery cell construction and assembly of the
various components to produce the finished product. Stages such acquisition
and storage of raw materials, the production of the battery trays, cell jars,
cell covers, intercell connectors, acid, etc. were omitted, but are virtually
a business within the business.

GRID CASTING: Lead bars, or “pigs” are continuously fed
into the “grid” casting machines. The machines heat the lead to a liquid state,
and then rapidly pour pre-set amounts into the molds to produce the grids.
Once pasted with lead oxide, they become the plates that make up each cell of a battery.

COMPLETED GRIDS: As they are
removed from the conveyor, each grid is inspected for proper thickness,
stacked and palletized for transport to the pasting area. Positive and
Negative grids are cast using separate specialized molds. Different cell
sizes use different molds, which requires retooling between production runs.

GRID PASTING: The positive
and negative grids go to separate pasting areas. The positive paste has a reddish color and the negative paste has a dull gray color. Quality control
personnel are ever present during this critical stage. Positive pasting
area (pictured):

Negative plates nearing completion:

PLATE CURING AND WRAPPING: The finished
plates are then dried and cured in large ovens to harden the paste material. Once cured, the positive
plates are wrapped, and the positive / negative plates are placed in the
correct order with “separators” between them in preparation for
initial cell assembly.

INITIAL CELL ASSEMBLY: Prior to
inserting the plates into the cell jars, they are clamped tightly in a
hydraulic jig, and the opposing rows of positive and negative plates are soldered together to form the
positive and negative “straps”. The positive and negative posts are also
formed during this process. Again, quality control is paramount at this
stage.

INTERMEDIATE CELL ASSEMBLY: The
assemblies are then inserted into the jars and placed on the assembly line.
The covers are then heat-sealed to the jars.

FINAL CELL ASSEMBLY: The final
stage of cell assembly is forming final positive and negative posts, which
also form an airtight cover to post seal. The electrolyte is then added, and the cells are placed into tubs for transport to
the charging area.

PREPARING CELLS FOR INITIAL CHARGE: Once the
cells are filled and grouped according to size and customer order, they are
connected together for the initial “formation” charge, which usually takes
one week.

FORMATION CHARGE: The cell
temperatures and electrolyte (acid) levels are constantly
monitored during the constant current formation charge. The
electrolyte levels are controlled by the white PVC inserts (pictured) to
prevent overflow and plate drying.

FINAL ASSEMBLY: The charged
cells finally merge with the trays for final battery assembly. The lead
intercell connectors are put in place and the delicate process of soldering
them in series begins. Any mistake at this stage could cause a lead melt
down, which would damage the cell(s), requiring them to be removed and
scrapped. Upon completion, quality control personnel thoroughly inspect each
battery.

PALLETIZATION / PREP FOR SHIPPING: The completed
batteries are then palletized, wrapped, banded and prepared for shipment.
Special bracing is constructed around each individual battery to prevent
movement or damage during shipment.

SHIPPING: The completed batteries are
tagged and staged for pick up in the shipping area, and loaded for delivery
to customers nation wide.